Tag: sukitte iinayo

Kai confronts and lambastes Megumi for trying to bring Mei and others down. When Asami and Aiko tell Megumi that Yamato and Mei are going to spend their first night together, she tries to bribe them and fails. Her attempt to banish Momo from her circle of “friends” also backfires, and they all abandon her. She leaves the agency before her shoot and pigs out on junk food in the dark. Meanwhile, Yamato and Mei spend the day at Land. Their plans are sidetracked when they’re stuck with Nagi, but they stay at the hotel anyway, and settle for spooning. In the morning the modeling agency calls Yamato saying they can’t get ahold of Megumi.

We knew Megu-tan would be in for a world of pain following her abortive scheming last week, and indeed, the hammer of reckoning comes down hard on her. However, we didn’t expect that witnessing her comeuppance would result in us actually feeling sorry for her. Damn you, Sukitte Ii na yo! Why can’t she just be one-dimensionally evil like King Oberon! We kid. Basically, Megumi’s current situation is the result of going down the wrong road to happiness: making herself cute and beautiful, becoming a model, and using her fame and wealth to make friends. The thing is, none of this is making her remotely happy. After a particularly bad day in which everyone gives her a dressing-down at once, she decides she’s had it, retreating to her flat to gorge on chips of various kinds.

The episode does a great job balancing Megumi’s downfall with the rise of Yamato+Mei, one more thing Megumi isn’t happy about. The episode teases us with the possibility of the lovebirds spending their first night together, but their chance encounter with Nagi puts the kibosh on that right quick. But as contrived as that happenstance was, we didn’t really mind it that much. We just couldn’t see Yamato and Mei jumping into the sack so suddenly considering their mutual nervousness, and their decision to take it nice and slow is true to their characters. They probably could have come to that decision if they’d had the room to themselves, but Nagi just made it that much easier. What we fear, however, is Megumi and/or Yamato feeling guilty for Megumi’s meltdown.

For Mei’s sake, Yamato quits modeling, and Mei notices Megumi isn’t happy about it. Yamato walks Mei to work and picks her up when her shift is over. She invites him to her house to dry his clothes. Just when Yamato is about to make a move, Mei’s mother comes home, but she’s impressed with him. The next day, Takemura Kai returns to school and says hello to Yamato. Kai is the bullied classmate Yamato couldn’t save. He’s back for revenge on the bullies, having visited Mei in the bakery a couple more times. Kai informs Yamato that he also likes Mei.

After all the awkwardness, missed opportunities, communications flubs and heartache threatened to explode in a frenzy of romantic incompetance, taking Mei and Yamato with it, but last week ended with a catharsis that was both satisfying and didn’t come off a cheap because of the hardships both parties went through to reach it. Much of this episode is a much-needed feel-good episode, where everything is peachy between Mei and Yamato. She’s still working up the courage to call him Yamato, but she’s getting there, inviting him upstairs and very nearly getting into something moste untowarde before her mom comes home, a mom who is both amazed and relieved her quiet, private daughter has such a fine young man by her side.

But clouds are rolling in from two sides: Mei’s rival Megumi doesn’t want to give up, and we wouldn’t put it past her to plan some kind of sabotage to split up the happy couple. That being said, considering Aiko’s very welcome transformation from Mei’s rival to her friend and confidant, Megu-tan isn’t totally irredeemable. A trickier situation rests in Kai, a kid Yamato was privately nice too but at school let him get bullied, is back, and he likes Mei. The easy thing to do would be to direct Kai to Megumi, so they can go have sex with a magazine camera happily ever after, but of course it’s not going to be so tidy.

Mei kisses Yamato, but has nothing to follow it up with, and in a moment of shyness she pushes him away with her words, and he goes home. Rumors persist, and in a new magazine interview, Megumi all but declares her love for Yamato, though not by name. After pushing away Asami and Aiko, Megumi goes home alone. Aiko tells Yamato about the rumor, and he chases after Mei to clear things up. While at work, Mei meets Takemura Kai, who is transferring to her school. Right after accidentally breaking her bracelet, Yamato appears and apologizes.

This episode is called “New to Love”, and quite appropriately so. By the end, Mei learns that she’s not the only one new to love; Yamato is to. As such, they’re both going to make mistakes, and they’re both going to worry and not say what they should say or say what they shouldn’t say, and misinterpret each other’s words and actions, and see deeper meaning in trifling events. The difference is, Yamato is new to love despite being fawned over by the masses and having been involved previously (with Aiko). Mei is new new, as in she’s barely ever spoken to a boy before Yamato. Her newness is such that when the golden opportunity comes for her to tell Yamato what she feels about his modelling and Megumi, she just chokes.

She’s in her head too much, and that’s causing her pain, which is all she says she’s experienced since falling for Yamato, which makes part of her want to just quit by the end. But of course, pain isn’t all she’s experienced. She’s also experienced RABUJOI love and joy in her dealings with Yamato – and it’s mutual, despite her suspicions. Thankfully, the episode doesn’t end in an ultra-ambiguous mess of emotions – both Mei and Yamato finally gets to say what they should have said days ago, and with a well-timed kick in the pants by Aiko, Yamato spills the beans and assures her nothing’s going on with Megumi. But as last week’s kiss proved, one moment of clarity won’t be enough to maintain their relationship. There’s got to be an open dialogue.

Rating: 9(Superior)

P.S. Oh yeah, about Kai, the mohawk dude. He just kinda showed up. Grabbed Mei inapproprately, asked if he could have her key, and left. Is he going to be competition for Yamato? We’ll see.

Yamato is enjoying taking care of his kitten Kuro, which Mei found and insisted he take care of. He suggests Mei come over to his house with her cat Marshmallow to meet him. She comes over and meets Nagi, who doesn’t like her. Mei trips and falls into Yamato’s lap, and they maintain the resulting embrace when Nagi enters with tea and apple pie, and flips out. Yamato sends her to her room. Yamato tells Mei about Nagi’s situation, and when he briefly leaves to help Nakanishi out, Mei goes to Nagi’s room with her stuffed rabbit, Yamato #2. She tells her about her similar past, but also not to give up on making friends altogether.

The streak of Yamato leaving Mei alone with someone continues, but the streak of the ensuing confrontation being unpleasant thankfully ends, as Mei is able to come away in the win column with the initially-irritating Kurosawa Nagi. We’re still not sure why Yamato keeps getting called away in these situations, but that’s neither here nor there. Mei also learns not to panic and calm down when in a friendly embrace with her boyfriend, but unfortunately she’s one of those characters who has trouble dropping honorifics. Say it with us, Mei: Ya-Ma-To. Not hard. You won’t get divine retribution for calling a guy by his given name.

It’s pretty easy for Mei otherwise, though, as Yamato isn’t really forcing her to have sex with him despite inviting her into his room, and Nagi, while initially dismissive, would have been hostile to Yamato’s girlfriend no matter what, because she’s going through a phase similar to a younger Mei in which she believes friends will only ever betray you, so fuck ’em. To her credit, Nagi has stayed productive in her time as a hermit, exploring her innate talent for both cooking and crafts. Mei wins her over and forms a bond through mutual experience, but Mei is now firmly on the pro-making friends team, and tells Nagi to give her and others a chance.

Rating: 8(Great)

P.S. Marshmallow and Kuro’s parallel arc of tentative belligerents growling to best pals curled up together paralleled Mei and Nagi’s nicely.

Yamato gives Mei a bracelet to match his as a public symbol of their love, and rumors spread about their going out, which reach the promiscuous Hayakawa Kakeru. He meets Yamato and Mei for lunch on Saturday, but Hayakawa suggests Mei go out with more guys, upsetting her, and she leaves. Yamato punches him. Back at school, Hayakawa whines to Aiko, but the conversation turns nasty. Mei overhears and has choice words for Hayakawa, who runs off in a snit. An off-guard Aiko calls her and Yamato a couple of idiots and also walks off. Mei meets Yamato in the courtyard, and when she asks him he admits he slept with Aiko. Mei kisses his bandaged hand.

Mei is in top form this week, amidst a barrage of caustic crap from the unpleasant self-hating Hayakawa. She doesn’t let herself get fazed by that barrage, and wastes no time disposing of his number in her phone once she sees his true colors. He’s a tomcat and a cad, amassing a legion of FWBs but having no genuine happiness to show for it. He can’t have what she and Yamato have, can’t stand it, and so tries to destroy it. He fails spectacularly. He’s also a coward and a brute, lashing out at Aiko when she gives him her ear, and even grabbing/shoving Mei when she gives him a piece of her mind in Aiko’s defense (Mei’s brave “smacker” comment was pretty freakin’ boss.) Pushing girls around: NOT COOL. Not expecting thanks, Mei makes it clear to Aiko that if it’s a fight she wants, she won’t let her win. Aiko, who fired the first salvo last week, pretends it’s not a big deal…but we know better.

Then we have Yamato himself, the guy Aiko wants and Hayakawa wants to be. He first gets kudos for suggesting that things may get easier for Mei if she made more friends, which is easier to do when she’s with him. It’s a bit heavy-handed, sure, and maybe Yamato and Mei would be just dandy if everyone simply left them the hell alone, but this is high school and that’s not going to happen. Mei could use more allies. Yamato has some points deduced for agreeing to yet another date that’s not just the two of them, and for again leaving her alone with a wolf. Like last week, he comes out on top by promptly detecting Hayakawa’s knavery, slugging him, and making it clear Mei is his (a bit possessive, but his heart’s in the right place). One concern is the “Nagi” who calls him. By episode’s end he tells Mei the truth about him and Aiko. Here’s hoping he continues telling her the truth – it’s the best aphrodisiac.

Rating: 9 (Superior)

P.S. Yamato’s a great deal taller than Mei – we were curious just how much taller. If Mei is a pretty average 153cm tall (5′), that makes Yamato 187cm (6’2″). Mei’s in for a lot of neck-craning. The image to the left is to scale (1px=1cm).

Mei is still nervous around Yamato, as she ponders what his angle is. Asami is continually bullied by two “cool girls”, and Mei gets slapped standing up to them. Nakanishi, who always liked Asami, also defends her, and later tells her his feelings, and they start going out. Meanwhile Mei is curious about Yamato’s intentions with Arai, the only cute girl he hasn’t kissed. Mei goes to the Karaoke bar and sees Yamato outside. Yamato takes the opportunity to make his feelings clearer.

Kurosawa is the most popular guy in school and can have any girl he wants, even without asking in some cases. So the plain, introverted, taciturn Tachibana Mei has every right to rack her brain over the question: “Why does he seem to be pursuing her?” While she doesn’t quite get the thorough explanation Asami gets in Nakanishi’s confession (that was a quick, tidy pairing!), Yamato prefers to show rather than tell, specifically what kisses mean what. There’s a nice little moment when the initial tension between them is released, and Mei’s observation that the kisses tasted like fried chicken was both funny and poignant. Taste is a big part of a kiss.

Yamato can be an aggressive guy, as we see here, and he’s clearly more comfortable kissing someone than Mei. But the previously passive Mei is becoming more assertive by the day. Calling Yamato last week was an act of desperation (she needed rescue from a stalker), but this week she stands up for her friend (getting a slap for her trouble) and also decides to run out to the karaoke night she passed on to find out for sure what was up with him. She didn’t go there just to flee at the sight of him. If Yamato had left with the frisky Arai, well, that would’ve been that, but it turns out he wasn’t interested in Arai. But if Yamato is more than just a man-whore, he’s going to have to prove it to Mei, and not just with kisses.

Tachibana Mei’s mom says this when she tells her about the wind chime she put up, making it sound like summer when it isn’t. We hear the chime again when Mei decides to execute a sweet spinning kick to the boy on the stairs behind her who pulled on her conservative knee-length skirt. Only she kicks the wrong boy.

This boy just happens to be Kurosawa Yamato. Girls want him, guys want to be him. But all the swooning girls look alike to him – except Mei, whom he thinks is “interesting”, perhaps because she’s so utterly uninterested in him. Wanting what you can’t have, or what doesn’t want you. Guilty over the kick, she apologizes to him, an act of kindness that opens a door. He gives her his number. She gives him band-aids.

Early in life, Mei decided to give up on having friends, because they would only ever betray and hurt her. This is laid on a little thick overall, but it’s not unreasonable to assume a regularly-teased girl who won’t conform to her peers would avoid relationships. So she’s naturally dubious of Yamato’s winning smile – she’s seen smiles before.

But when she finds herself in a (rather convenient) pickle by a stalker, and has no one to turn to, she calls Yamato, who rushes to her rescue, executed with a confession of love and a kiss. It may not be enough to change her mind about having friends, but it certainly starts something…which is when everything starts.